Halloween Tradition

By Desirae Gracyn

Crisp scents of pumpkin spice and nutmeg permeate the freezing autumn air and fill me with exhilaration. October is my favorite month, and Halloween is my favorite day—especially this year—but not for the typical reasons. The dress-up, haunted houses, and more aren’t the things that make it special, though they are great. The reason I love Halloween is because this is my family’s day of love, luck, and happily ever afters. My parents, grandparents, and many others in the Stikla family met their soul mate on Halloween night the year they turned seventeen.

Keys jingle to my left, and I almost jump.

“Glyssa, you’re still here?” the principal asks as she locks up.

“Mathletes got out late. Aunt L should be here soon.” I sigh and lean back on the bench.

“Okay. Stay safe, and enjoy your Halloween.”

I definitely plan to. This is the night I’m destined to find my soul mate. I’ve imagined it a hundred ways. My favorite is when I’m at the Halloween bash, dressed in my fairy costume, and my mate asks for a dance. The second I look into their eyes for the first time, I’ll know they’re the one. And when we kiss, it’ll be like a fire ignited in my soul. It’s how all the family describe it. Like the kiss awakens our soul to magic. The magic of love.

I braid my blonde locks at least three times as the sky darkens and the freezing air stings my face. Where is Aunt L? She knows how important this day is for me.

A sassy tune blares from my phone. Sure enough, I have a text from Aunt L. “Sorry, I got held up. Leaving in about thirty.”

My stomach groans and covers the several curse words I utter. I’m cold, hungry, and desperate to get ready and meet my mate. I’d walk to my house if it wasn’t twenty minutes away by car. I check my Vober app. The cheapest ride cost forty dollars. I check my bank, twenty-two dollars. Damn it.

Orange bulbs flicker in the lampposts around the vacant parking lot. Staying outside alone doesn’t sound safe. I turn and stare at the school’s tacky green bricks. Inside would provide safety, warmth, and vending machine food.

Long ago, rumors spread that the skaters used something in the back to sneak out during lunch. If I could find it, I could use it to get in. I stuff my books into my backpack, pull the straps over my shoulders, and head that way.

Turning the corner to the left side of the building, pop music blares from inside, strobe lights spark through the window, and the scent of buttery popcorn drifts in the air. What the hell? Are the teachers having a party? Where are there cars?

I shake my head. Who cares? All that matters is someone’s inside, and they’ll surely let me in.

Windows three bricks apart line the left side of the school, a foot above my head. I grab a rough rock beside me and throw it at one of the window panes. Nothing. I throw five more. Still nothing. Perhaps they can’t hear it over the music.

I throw several more all at once. Besides their loud bangs on the glass, nothing changes.

Groaning and squeezing the coat tighter around me, I kick at the brick.

“What did the building ever do to you?” a low, sexy voice says from behind me. My heart races so fast I can’t answer. “You okay?”

I turn to face them, and my heart stops. I can’t breathe. She’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. The left side of her hair is metallic purple and flows to her hip. The other side is shaved. She has a septum hoop, lip ring, and left eyebrow piercing that brings emphasis to her gold eyes. It’s like looking at a sunrise, which is wild since the rest of her reminds me of a creature of the night. She wears black leather with chains hanging from every pocket, and spikes poke out of the wheels of her skateboard.

“Are. You. Okay?” She places her hand on my shoulder. Her touch travels throughout my body like she’s touching all of me at once.

“Yeah.” I swallow.

“So, what are you doing?” She removes her hand and leans against the building.

“My aunt is late. I’m cold, hungry, and worried about being out in the dark alone, so I was trying to get inside.”

“School’s closed.”

“Yeah, I know that. But someone’s in there having a party. I thought they’d let me in.”

“And why would they do that?” She smirks.

“Pity?” I shrug.

She fidgets with her lip ring. “Interesting logic.”

“Why are you here?” I play with my bracelet. “Were you going to break in?”

“Why would I tell you that?” She sized me up. “You might be a goodie-two-shoes and nark on me.”

I step closer to her, the tension between us heating. “Didn’t I say I was trying to get in?”

“Yeah. But I bet you think it’s the teachers throwing a party.”

“It’s not?” I gasp.

“I don’t think so.” Again, she smirks, and a side dimple appears on her left cheek.

Maybe it’s the skaters throwing a party. They do know the way to sneak in. “It’s your group’s party. Take me with you.”

“You sure you want that? What if I’m the bad guy, and you don’t make it back out alive?” She steps closer to me this time, and my body melts despite the freezing temperature.

“If you were going to do something, you would’ve already.”

“I’m thinking about it,” she says in a sensual voice. My mind whirls. Oh, my damn. Is she interested? Could she be the one? My soul mate?

“So you going to let me in?”

She kicks the vent next to us, and it clatters to the tile floor. “After you, princess.”

“Name’s Glyssa and you should go first.” Safer not to turn my back to her, just in case.

“Whatever, name’s Silver.” She drops with an elegant grace. “Come on.”

Without a second thought, I jump. But I don’t do it gracefully. I fall on top of her, crashing us both to the floor with me on top. Her skateboard rolls along the tile.

Instead of pushing me off, she smiles and props herself slightly up. “You going to move or just stare at me?”

“Umm.”

“If you don’t move, I won’t be able to refrain myself.”

“From what,” I say breathlessly.

“Kissing you.”

Butterflies dance in my stomach. She likes me. Though this wasn’t how I envisioned finding my soul mate, who cares. It doesn’t matter the location or what I look like. All that matters is that I found my mate. I hope. A kiss will confirm.

Unable to wait for her, I place my lips on hers, and fires ignite in my soul. Everything awakens. The kiss is better than I ever imagined. Looks like fate or Stilka’s lucky day wanted Aunt L to be delayed. It’s all part of the grand scheme of me continuing on the Stilkas’ Halloween tradition.

🩷🩷🩷

Desirae Gracyn is a nurse and neurodiverse slash queer writer. Working with patients, she has seen how powerful words are in healing and escaping, and it revived her childhood dream of being an author. She predominantly writes fantasy and hopes to help others escape in the worlds she creates.

Author Name: Desirae Gracyn

Author Website: https://www.desirae-gracyn.com/

Twitter: @desiraejgracyn